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Various effects seen depending on vacation rentals measure outcome

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Published 12:07 p.m. PT April 26, 2018

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The members of the Palm Springs City Council's subcommittee on vacation rentals, J.R. Roberts, left at podium, and Geoff Kors, discuss vacation rental policy efforts in February 2017.(Photo: Richard Lui/The Desert Sun)Buy Photo

A favorite argument of the “No on C” crowd is that putting restrictions on short-term rentals (STRs) in R1 residential areas will simply drive them underground. They will continue to operate, but illegally.

This argument misses two important considerations. First, the city has the power to create very strong disincentives for such behavior. For example, a fine of $5,000 plus uncollected TOT taxes for any STR owner caught advertising and/or renting an unlicensed STR would cause many investors to rethink their business model. The fine for a second offense could be $10,000 and so on. Being cut off from publicly advertising an STR — e.g. on the Internet — would be a very serious handicap.

Although I believe it’s very unlikely, suppose such measures were not 100 percent effective — that one in five STR investors was able to continue operating as an illegal unlicensed property.

That would mean 80 percent fewer STRs in Palm Springs — a reduction of more than 1,500 STRs in R1 residential neighborhoods and a HUGE improvement in the quality of life in those neighborhoods.

Many — if not all — supporters of Measure C would count that a major victory.

Richard Blackhurst, Palm Springs

An assault on working families

Sometimes we don't discuss the obvious, and why banning Palm Springs vacation rentals would make as much sense as building a wall at our border with Cathedral City. (My dog might also want to build a wall around “Cat City,” but she's confused).

How would a ban affect the people who work here? Palm Springs is fueled by tourism. I own five long-term rentals and all of my tenants are working families whose jobs might vaporize if we “ban” half of our tourists.

The ban is a direct assault on people with jobs in restaurants, construction, services, and in every business that makes our town run. Is it merely a coincidence that the targets are mostly Latino and LGBT working families?

Palm Springs is too smart to miss this.

This is a great town because we value our progress, and do not want to turn back the clock to a mythical “Brady Bunch” era. Our diverse residents brought Palm Springs back from decline, and we came back from the real estate crash to make our town better than ever.

Our future will still take the talent and work of the people the ban strenuously wants to exclude.